Privates vs Regular Class Training /// By: Vincent Inoncillo

Jiu-Jitsu is an art that can be practiced throughout a lifetime. It doesn't matter when the journey begins just as long as it starts. As mentioned in previous entries, practitioners come in all shapes, sizes and backgrounds. Some rely on athleticism, some rely on technique, while others use a combination of both. It's common for some to grasp the concepts of technique and movement quicker while it takes a little more time and effort for others to get on the same page. We were all made differently and each of us comprehend and progress through our jiu-jitsu journey at different rates. 

Due to the fact that every practitioner learns jiu-jitsu differently, private lessons and regular class training can be beneficial to improving one's techniques, understanding, and overall game. Regular classes are more of a general learning experience where the instructor teaches techniques to the whole class. A training partner is essential in this learning setting. Private lessons offer more attention to the student from the instructor. These two avenues of learning offer similar and contrasting benefits to the student.

Let's think of training in a regular class as learning in a classroom setting in school. The teacher has a curriculum of subjects, or in this case techniques, to teach their students and is available for assistance to clarify any details during the the class. Training in a regular class can consist of warm ups, learning and drilling techniques with a partner and live sparring. A huge benefit of a class setting is training and sparring with different partners with different belts and body types who utilize various sets of their own preferred techniques.

On the flip side are private lessons. Private lessons are taught by an instructor and can be comparable to tutoring sessions in school. During these sessions a student can receive a more personalized approach to learning jiu-jitsu. It's a more individualized learning process and they get the teacher's full attention. They can go over the little details they're missing in their techniques during class and can ask any additional questions they may have. A plus to private lessons are that the instructor can give their recommendations on techniques and sequences the student can employ with their current skill set.

A couple of instructors gave their insights on regular classes and private lessons. Sonny Nohara, a seasoned competitor and black belt instructor from Las Vegas, says, "If someone can afford private lessons on a regular basis, I think it is very beneficial because you can really focus on the details and intricacies to positions while getting one on one attention for an hour. That's for lower belts when you're early in your jiu-jitsu journey. I personally only took 2 privates in my life and they were both when I already had my black belt. I think you should take advantage of taking a private from someone you try to emulate or has a similar body type to you if you have the chance. I also think people learn at different rates so some people can get really good without taking any privates and some people will benefit more from it." Tahomar "TG" Gil, a brown belt kids instructor offers his point of view saying, "They each address different aspects of the game. And one can't substitute the other. But if you have to chose one, definitely go with regular class. It will be a longer road. But only privates wouldn't provide the diversity in sparring you need (technique levels, styles, sizes, body types, etc)."

Professor Nohara makes a good point saying that one should take advantage early in their journey by taking private lessons when and if they can. He also agrees that everyone learns differently and at different rates so if you learn a little quicker than others taking regular classes and skipping out on the privates might not be so bad. Professor TG highlights the beneficial aspects of both private lessons and regular classes as well. The extra instruction never hurts and also allows you to focus more on what your game can turn into. The beauty of regular class is training with different partners who have different body types and play their jiu-jitsu differently. It causes you to react or act according to how your partner plays. No matter which road you take definitely do the regular classes for the variety of training partners, but also try to venture out and take advantage of learning one-on-one from your instructor or from someone else. Your jiu-jitsu is what you make it, so make it work for you.

Stages Every White Belt Goes Through

As you progress through your jiu-jitsu journey, it’s hard to forget the highs and lows of when you first started. There are countless moments were I felt frustrated, asked myself why am I doing this, and for fleeting moments – wanted to give up because I didn’t think I would ever “get it.” If you are a higher belt that frequently trains with white belts, you can just tell by the look on their face or their actions what “stage” they are in. If you are a beginner and are unsure of what the future holds, the following will help you understand the stages you'll go through as a white belt, some quicker (or slower) than others. 

Stage I: The WHAT am I doing phase? Most often, common BJJ moves will be confusing and our bodies take a little longer to coordinate with the movements. We feel lost, move like a fish out of water, and can’t believe how exhausted we feel after the 15 minute warm up.  Every technique that we learn seems like a foreign language and we often stumble through moves with our partners because our body doesn’t want to move in sync with our mind.

Stage II: We are moving better and starting to get the hang of it. Warm ups don’t make us feel like we want to throw up anymore and we got the hang of hip escapes. “Live” sparring freaks us out and we still feel like a fish out of water because we can’t quite put the techniques we learned into actual play yet. But, we’re getting much, much, much better at… defending.

Stage III: We are no longer the “beginner” in class and we’re starting to feel good about it.  Positions and movements are starting to make sense and we’ve gained some confidence because we are no longer the last ones lining up at the end of class. We are starting to confidently build upon the basic techniques we’ve learned at are able to use them when rolling with others around the same skill level.

Stage IV: Here comes your confidence reality check and a possible plateau. Just when we are starting to get the hang of things, we get humbled real quick. What once worked on certain people with the same skill level are not. We are getting submitted and being put in bad situations more often than not… and the people that did not give you problems before are starting to frustrate you.

Stage V: If you have not given up by now, this is when suddenly you feel like the light bulb turns on. It’s like you’re a whole new person on the mat. You movements surprise you; you are executing techniques seemingly flawlessly; and you have an overwhelming sense of excitement every time you train. This is usually around the time when your journey as a white belt comes to an end and your blue belt begins.

I’ve always said that the white belt is probably one of the best belt levels to be at. There are no expectations of you and every day on the mat feels like a new beginning – like a clean slate. Every belt brings new, exciting, and challenging experiences, which is the beauty of jiu-jitsu – the constant evolution of the art, the sport, and ourselves.

Humility in Jiu-Jitsu /// By: Vincent Inoncillo

In life there are people we admire, look up to and draw inspiration from. The first word that comes to mind is, hero. A hero is defined as someone who is courageous with good qualities. To every yin there is their yang, and for a hero their yang is a villain. A villain is someone who antagonizes others or challenges them and has bad intentions. Whether someone is a hero or a villain is matter of opinion. In any aspect of life, there will one, the other or both. In the movie the Godfather, Michael Corleone disposes of his enemies for the good of his family and business. Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Terrorists attack to make statements. Their intentions may be good or bad, but in their eyes its for a greater good or purpose.

In jiu-jitsu there are people who we admire and others whose antics we disagree with. When we think of jiu-jitsu heroes we think of our professors, guys with cool techniques or those who have won big events. Then there are guys that are viewed as bad guys in the game because of the way they carry themselves on and off the mats. Just because of your level in the art, where you train or whatever the case may be, the way you portray yourself is the way others will view you. This is why it's important to have humility in jiu-jitsu.

Conveying humility in every and any interaction, on or off the mat and even when you're at home should take place. We are the sole purveyors of our safety for ourselves and training partners, as well as our journey in jiu-jitsu or life in general. There are some who start out training and go all out in their sparring matches, treating it like life or death. Then they get tapped out because they were getting out of hand. Jiu-Jitsu is a humbling experience in itself. Leaving your ego at the door is an important element when you commit yourself to this art. Just because you might be the cream of the crop in a different area in life outside of the mats doesn't necessarily mean it will translate to jiu-jitsu, at least not for everyone. There will be days where you will be bested by the next person and it is a naturally occurring ingredient in our journey to getting better at jiu-jitsu.

Trash talking others in jiu-jitsu can lead to an edification of humility. It happens all the time in boxing and MMA leading up to the event event, but it also is prevalent in jiu-jitsu today. Maybe one or both parties take part in exchanging words with each other prior to an upcoming tournament or super fight, but the truth is the if it's not a draw there will only be one hand raised. As good as they are, all that boasting will be for nothing. Being able to back up your words is a good thing, but maybe just being humble and silent could be better. You will get tapped by lower belts, someone with less experience or just someone that took advantage of the opportunity you gave them in your match. It's an inevitable thing.

From my own personal experience I display humility everyday. With my training partners I allow them to play their game and put me in some of the worst positions possible. I use this is an opportunity for myself to improve and to allow them to work on their own improvement. There are moments where I capitalize on where they should be taking advantage of what I'm giving them, but also there are times where they succeed and pass my guard or tap me out. 

It's natural to be proud of your accomplishments and share them, but to be boastful and otherwise aren't traits of people we look up to. Those are characteristics that can ignite negativity and other chaos. We are all human and we act different, but as practitioners of jiu-jitsu we should be examples of good humans and role models for all.

Long Term Plan /// By: Jared Weiner

I was talking with a close friend of mine the other day who is in the middle of his successful MMA career. We were having discussion about some fighters who just got cut from the roster and were wondering what they were gonna do with their lives. This really got me thinking about long term planning, education, family, and overall survival.

I know a lot of professional Jiu-Jitsu athletes who are making a nice living traveling state to state, country to country, have high paying sponsors and basically living the Jiu-Jitsu dream. I think this is incredible and I'll be the first one to acknowledge these amazing athletes and call them professionals, but what happens when age starts catching up to you and you are not the hot item on the scene any longer? The sponsors start to slowly back away, the seminars become less and less and you are stuck trying to support yourself and possibly a family with only past earnings. This is the exact reasons I stress education and a back up plan to all of my students and competitors.

I know people will say you can't focus on being a world champion and in school at the same time. I would have to disagree this. I know quite a few athletes who have pursued their degree and became elite level champions at the same time. I'm sure it's not easy and most likely overwhelming but the personal achievement and long term security is well worth the efforts in my opinion.

The common line I always hear is, "I'll just open an academy when I'm ready to slow down." This is great, but owning and operating a school is not for everyone and takes tons of time and effort and is not as easy as one might think. The majority of new people and prospective students who walk in to your school could care less about all the medals and achievements you won in the past, and have no clue how famous you may be in the Jiu-Jitsu world. It's a whole new ball game for someone who only knows fighting.

We have all seen the sad stories about some MMA fighters and Jiu-Jitsu competitors who were at the top and are still trying to live off of the past. It's upsetting to see this. You can't predict the future, injuries happen, careers get cut short, but you can protect yourself from a spiral down fall by investing in yourself via education or have a long term back up plan. Like I said this is by no means a knock on anyone. I admire the professional Jiu-Jitsu and MMA athletes more than most, but human blinders and no regard for the future are a scary thing. Don't be caught off guard. Invest in yourself. There is nothing wrong about having multiple life paths to choose from once your professional competition career winds down.

World Clan PDX Recap

World Clan kicked off 2017 with its first stop at Impact Jiu-Jitsu in Clackamas, Oregon. With over 100+ in attendance plus 17 black belts from around the Pacific Northwest, the mats were overflowing with people, great techniques, and, as always, good vibes.

Jiu-Jitsu in the Pacific Northwest is a special thing. Not only did academies throughout Oregon come out to support this event in their state, many people came from as far as Seattle, Washington (an over 2 hour drive in rainy weather) to attend the event. Owner and Founder of Impact Jiu Jitsu, Michael Chapman, made all guests feel welcome from the start and his positive energy rubbed off on everyone in attendance.

I think it’s safe to say that everyone who attended the event made at least one new friend that day and rolled with someone new for the first time. Even all of the 17 black belts in attendance were not shy to roll each other and belts of every color.

It’s hard to describe “the feels” you get from a World Clan event. But if this is any indication – most of us were anxious to upload our photos and videos from the event after it ended and find our new friends that we met on social media. Many of us left inspired, a little more passionate about BJJ (if that’s even possible), and ready to continue to share and grow jiu-jitsu.

What to Expect During Your First Jiu-Jitsu Class

If you were to ask me what I remember of my first BJJ class, I probably could not give you a definitive answer. But the one thing I do remember is how nervous I was because it was way out of my comfort zone. Like trying anything new for the first time, BJJ can be intimidating and scary because you have no idea what to expect. What we see in pictures and videos could be totally different from the experience itself. Nonetheless, it can be nerve wracking.

A lot of my friends who are interested in trying a class often ask me what they can expect during their first time training. From what I have experienced training at various academies in the states and internationally, most BJJ classes are structured the same way:

1.  The bowing in: Students line up by belt rank and bow in to signify the start of the class.

2.  The warm up: This can be a series of calisthenics and/or drills regularly used in training (shrimping, sprawls, sit outs, etc.).

3.  Technique breakdown and drills: This is where you learn a move or sequence of moves for the day. Usually, the technique is broken down into parts and the instructor will have students drill with their partners before moving on to the next technique that builds upon the first. This drilling/instructional part of class takes up the most time, as drilling is essential in converting techniques into muscle memory.

4.  Sparring: This is the live training portion of class where students are able to practice the techniques they learned during class. Sometimes this sparring session may start as positional, starting in the position (mount, side control, closed guard, etc.) that was just taught. Other times, students will start from standing or on their knees for a live match. Not all academies allow newbies to spar until they have some mat time under their belt to reduce the potential accidental injuries from occurring due to inexperience and lack of technical knowledge.

5.  The bow out: Class will end the way that it began, with students lining up by rank. The instructors will say a few encouraging words (otherwise known as the “mat chat”) before ending the class and bowing out. 

Most seasoned students who have been around for a bit are very helpful and will often help ease any newcomer into the routine. If you can keep an open mind, not have any expectations of yourself (and what you can and cannot do), and not get discouraged because you “don’t get it” yet, you will have a great time and get a nice workout in the process. If you haven’t given up after your first class, give it at least six months to decide whether or not BJJ is something that is right for you. You may end up falling in love with it like the rest of us! Like and share this with someone you know who wants to give BJJ a try!

Top 5 Signs of a Toxic Academy

People new to martial arts are often vulnerable and wouldn’t know a good academy from a bad one, especially if they have not tried multiple academies before choosing the one that is right for them.

There are many red flags of a toxic martial arts academy. From cult-like behavior to using physical and mental control over students, here are our top 5 red flags:

1. You are not allowed to train at other academies and are often made to feel guilty or disloyal when you train at other academies on vacation or attend a seminar at a rival gym. This “old school” attitude can be quite common, but the way that students are made to feel should they disregard the “unwritten rules” of the academy is what turns this into our top red flag.
2. There is no “enforcer.” Meaning that problem students (see previous blog on the top 5 training partners we love to hate) get away with their nasty habits ALL THE TIME. Often times, the “leaders” of the academy don’t exercise control or fail to address problem students that are causing a dip in morale at the gym.
3. There is a lack of leadership/quality of instruction. Just because an instructor was successful in competition in the past, it does not mean that they are a good instructor or capable of running a business. This head instructor does not value learning from others, as they are the highest ranking belt in the academy and often do not train with students (or visitors) who threaten their skill level. This instructor may also have a “part-time” mentality, meaning that jiu-jitsu is no longer their top priority and their lack of passion is displayed by their lackluster instruction and coaching of their students.
4. The academy weighs higher on medal chasers more than the average student. This means that the one trick pony blue belt who enters every tournament and literally only knows one move (but is successful at it) means more to their instructor than the average blue belt who comes to class every day, who is able to retain techniques and teach it to others. Promotions revolve around competition success more than attendance, effort, and technique retention.
5. The academy or head instructor’s lineage is questionable. If they came from drama, there’s a good chance they are drama too.

If you feel like you are in an abusive relationship with jiu-jitsu, you are in a toxic training environment. If you can compare your training partner’s or instructor’s behaviors with that of a crazy ex, it’s time to find a new academy to train at because it is not worth feeling resentment towards something that you love or being so unhappy but unable to give up jiu-jitsu because you love it so much.

Mind Over Matter: Training the Competition Mind

With the 2017 comp season well underway, and with one of the largest BJJ competitions just around the corner next month (Pan Ams), there is much more to preparing for competition than just the physical aspects. Aside from strength and conditioning, dieting, and tough training sessions, in order to be successful in competition, the athlete must also train their mind too.

Shot credit: Mendes Brothers

Like Professor James “300” Foster stated, “One of the most, if not THE most, under trained assets a BJJ practitioner possesses is their mind. If you’re not doing some form of mental training you’ll never reach your full potential.” This is particularly true for the athlete that wants to compete in larger, higher level competitions such as Pan Ams and Worlds for the first time.

For athletes competing for the first time, it can be chaotic. Aside from hearing about how competition is from our teammates, the fact that we don’t know what to expect is scary.

Most often times we go into competition worrying more about our opponents and what their strengths are. We get caught up in the little things like if our opponents beat someone that we had previously lost to and we often spend too much time (pre-comp) online trying to find any videos of their previous matches. Or often times we feel frustrated after a match because we know we could have done better but our nerves got the best of us. Even though we trained extremely hard and were ready (technically and physically), we were not mentally prepared.

In training, our coaches spend the majority, if not, all of their time helping us prepare for the physical aspects of competition. Because each person is different and their mental approach to competition is different (whether they know better or not), coaches may not always spend time to work on mental training with you. That is why it is imperative to not only train the physical aspects, but to train your mind… because when your body is exhausted, it will be the only thing that will save you.

You don’t need to see a sports psychologist to work on mental training, as there are a lot of resources available to us at the click of a button.

Some audio books recommended by Foster include:

• 10 Minute Toughness by Jason Selk
• The Art of Mental Training by DC Gonzalez
• Performing Under Pressure by Hendrie Weisinger and J. P. Pawliw-Fry

Another great resource is the audio books by The BJJ Mental Coach, Gustavo Dantas. 

Shot credit: Mendes Brothers

“If your mind is strong, all difficult things will become easy; if your mind is weak, all easy things will become difficult.” - unknown

The Top Five Training Partners that We Love to Hate

For some strange reason, jiu-jitsu can bring out the best and the worst in people. In our own academies, there are a multitude of personalities that can present a challenge to their training partners and instructors.

The following is a short list of the common personalities that we may encounter on the mat:

The Drill Buster. This is the training partner that gives 100% resistance when drilling. Sometimes they like to change it up on you by not doing the drill correctly, insisting that their way is the correct way (even after the instructor has corrected them). When you suggest that maybe they should slow it down or change their hand placement, their response is usually – “okay…” and then they go back to doing the same, wrong thing. The drill buster is commonly most resistive when drilling with partners that they outrank because after all, they’ve been doing BJJ longer so obviously they’re doing it right and you’re doing it wrong.

The YouTube Guru. The “hey, you wanna see what I learned on YouTube today?” training partner. Instead of drilling what your professor is teaching for the day, they are often caught drilling what they saw on YouTube because it’s more fun and “all the black belts are doing it” (even if they’re a one stripe blue belt). They often aren’t savvy enough to catch the details from YouTube and end up hurting their partner in the process of attempting to do it live.

The World Champion. Not really, but that’s their only jiu-jitsu goal. Ever. You know this because every time they spar, they go 100% ‘til the death, every round, often subjecting their training partners to painful and unnecessary injuries because they are too focused on winning and not necessarily practicing the techniques they have learned. They also have a highlight DVD of themselves for you to take home to study after class.

Pig-Pen. Better known as the character from Charlie Brown that is known for perpetually being filthy with a cloud of dirt and dust that follows him wherever he goes. The BJJ version of Pig-Pen often comes to class in a dirty gi, usually air drying it after their first training session earlier that day. You can smell them from a few feet away and others quickly move out of their way when they are making their way to a new training partner in between rounds.

The Social Media Star. This training partner is more concerned about mat selfies, “inspirational” posts, and what technique video (of themselves) they are going to post on social media... because, after all, "BJJ is life." They are often found bragging about how many followers they have or what popular BJJ star liked their posts more than they appear to train that day. They are often also obsessed with finding a sponsor to boost their BJJ street cred.

While we cannot control the various personalities in our academies, we can choose our training partners (usually)… and if we are really lucky, we have great leaders in our professors/coaches/upper belts to help “regulate” these personalities from adversely affecting our training.

Beating the Blue Belt Blues

Otherwise known as the “Blue Belt Curse,” this phenomenon is common amongst all academies no matter how hard instructors try to prevent it. You may even know someone who fell victim to it and never made it back to training. Or you are suffering from it yourself (or have in the past).

The first question we must ask is WHY does this happen? Why would someone who spends at least 3-4 days per week at the gym just drop out once they get their blue belt?

As white belts, there are no expectations of us. We are all clean slates and we just want to figure out what jiu-jitsu is and how to do it. As we progress as white belts, learning how to defend and getting comfortable doing jiu-jitsu, before we know it, we are promoted to blue. The path from white to blue can be as short as six months or as long as two years, depending on the level that we commit to it.  But the fact is, that transition from white to blue is often the quickest transition between the belt ranks.

With that being said, the transition from white to blue can be difficult, as we often add pressure and expectations to ourselves to “live up to the belt rank.”  Because of this unwanted pressure, we often plateau as a newly promoted blue and take a break from training – sometimes longer than expected – or never come back at all.

So how do we deal with this sudden plateau or lack of motivation?

Set specific goals in training. If you were comfortable (and got pretty good at) playing certain positions as a white belt, it is now time to change it up. Work on closed guard, work on your defenses from the bottom, work on specific submissions, etc. Get used to being uncomfortable. It’s the only way you’re going to improve your game.

Leave your ego at the door. So what if you got your blue belt? Nobody has put an imaginary target on your back in training. And even if they did, so what? Just train. Have fun. And enjoy YOUR own journey.

Have realistic expectations of yourself (and disregard the expectations of others). Don’t create unnecessary pressure for yourself to improve. Your learning will come at it’s own time, as there is no specific time on when you’ll automatically “get” jiu-jitsu.

Talk to your professor/coach/teammates. If you feel like you’re in a slump, chances are, they have been there too. So before you call it quits or need a break, let them know what’s going on. They may be able to provide some words of encouragement to help keep you motivated.

Blue belts make up the highest percentage of all of the belt ranks in jiu-jitsu. If you are aware of a teammate who is on a long break or whom you haven’t seen around in awhile, maybe it’s time to check on them. If we can keep ourselves and each other accountable, maybe we can help combat the blue belt blues and prevent our favorite teammates from disappearing off the mats for good!

Yoga: A Natural Compliment to Jiu-Jitsu

If you’ve been around jiu-jitsu long enough, you know that many people supplement their training with other activities such as strength and conditioning, crossfit, yoga, surfing, ginastica natural, and dance to name a few.

At first thought, some people would not think that yoga is synonymous with BJJ, especially considering it to be solely a spiritual practice. On the contrary, the two seem to compliment each other extremely well... if you do your research and find the right style for YOU! Some benefits of yoga for BJJ include improved flexibility, improved balance, controlled breathing, increased recovery, body awareness, and an overall balanced lifestyle.

Calvin Corzine, Kron Gracie brown belt, related, "Practicing yoga regularly has improved almost every aspect of my jiujitsu, but to be honest its biggest value to me has been recovery and doing yoga allows me the ability to keep training hard as my body ages."

The following are different types of yoga that could be most useful to supplement your BJJ training:

Ashtanga: This is a set sequence of poses that are done day in and day out, linking breath with movement. Each pose is only held for 5 breaths, so it is a relatively fast pace and a very intense practice. It creates great flexibility and strength, but can be pretty taxing on the joints and is a very disciplined practice.

Hot Yoga: This yoga is performed in rooms heated to 95-100 degrees. Hot yoga positions are more varied. The heat helps with flexibility and detoxification and is popular amongst beginner yogis. Be weary when attending chains of these studios as the standard of teacher tends to be very low and when your body is warm, yes, you will sweat more... but it is also easy to over stretch and feel like your body is ready for a pose or stretch that it really isn't. It can be amazing for recovery when sore, just be careful!

Iyengar: This yoga features various props (bolsers, blankets, straps, and blocks). Iyengar is a meticulous style of yoga focused on the correct alignment in each pose. The pace is slow and poses are often held for a minute or longer. If you are coming back from a serious injury, although this class isn't "sexy" or appealing to most, it will be the best for you. To be a certified "Iyengar" teacher means you have studied your ass off and are constantly going though recertification. Iyengar was originally done in a more medicinal manner in using specific poses to cure issues in the body (it's legit).

Restorative: With as few as five poses in one class, this class is ideal for injured or stress rehab.

Yin: Yin yoga is a class where different floor poses and stretches such as hip openers are held for between 3-5 minutes per pose. The goal is to open up the connective tissue. It can hurt like hell, but it is really great for your overall flexibility and opening up tight and troublesome areas of the body.

Vinyasa: Vinyasa literally means linking breath with movement. Your teacher will take you through a series of poses and the class also involves a series or two of sun salutes. This style is great for athletes that want to build strength, stability and work some balance while working on their breathing. It can be very demanding, but also very rewarding. If you are recovering from injury, this is not the class for you, but if you are training regularly, this is a great supplement to your training regimen. Do your homework on your teachers, because many teachers will start racking vinyasa flow with little to no experience and training, so just like any style, pick your teachers wisely. 

Power Yoga: Just as it sounds, power yoga takes you from one pose to the next and utilizes every muscle in the body, increasing your metabolism and calorie burn. It is a more athletic style of yoga and is often called “vinyasa flow,” due to its fluidity in movement.

So the next time you’re rolled up like a pretzel in training and wonder how you can get more flexible, you may want to consider giving yoga a try.  It could be the game changer that you've been looking for.

Tips for BJJ Parents

Lately I've been showing up early to class and have been able to observe part of the kids’ class. With sometimes over 30 kids on the mat at any given time between the ages of 3 - 8 and 9 - 13, it constantly amazes me to see the skill level, commitment, and discipline displayed by them - largely due to their coaches and supportive parents.

Like any team sport, Jiu-Jitsu is no different for kids. However, being that BJJ is fairly new to the mainstream unlike soccer, basketball, baseball, or football, not all parents are familiar with or have ever tried BJJ.

After talking to a few coaches from different academies, they suggested some helpful tips for parents of children who train. Whether you are a parent who trains or a parent who doesn't, the following is a great guide to support your child’s BJJ journey:

1. Always support your child, but never force them to go to class. This “motivation” can transform into an aversion to BJJ. On that same note, never force your child to compete either.
2. Have realistic expectations. Don't expect your child to be a “professional” at a very young age. Also, don't expect your child to “get it” quickly. Although children can absorb techniques like sponges, there is always a learning curve, especially in BJJ.
3. Don't coach from the sidelines in training. That's what you pay their coaches for. If not, throw on a gi and experience what your child is going through.
4. When your child is competing, be supportive. The coaching should stop once the match is over. A hug or a high five after a fight is much more appreciated than talking about what they could have or should have done.
5. Don't try to “live vicariously” through your child. Refer to #1.

Last but not least, make sure that the academy your child is training at teaches the whole aspect of BJJ, especially self-defense, as that is something they can take away for life.

Jiu-Jitsu provides long lasting benefits for kids. If you keep in mind the tips above, your child will prosper on their BJJ journey and you may end up being a proud parent of a black belt one day! 

Jiu-Jitsu From the Smaller Person Perspective

Last week after class, I rolled with a visiting white belt (4 stripe). I let him play his game for a bit and after getting accidentally hit in the head by either his hand, foot, or other body part, I finally had to tell him to chill out because I didn’t want to get unnecessarily injured. After time stopped, he apologized for going too hard and hitting me in the face. He asked to roll again and I obliged, but this time said we would, “flow roll”… but of course the exact same thing happened. I got hit in the face a couple more times on accident and he’d freak out at any move I’d try to make. Finally after class, he admitted that he has never rolled with someone smaller (or lighter than him) before and that he is used to being smashed by everyone.

Being that I have always been the smallest and lightest person in class, I know a thing or two about adversity in BJJ. I’ve been smashed by guys a foot or more taller and up to 80 lbs heavier at any given time from my white to purple belt. However, despite it being spirit crushing at times and made me question my skill level, I had to stop using my size as an excuse. Much like how a bigger person would never apologize for their size.

It’s like the saying goes, “It not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” Since I couldn’t beat bigger guys with strength, I had to adapt. I started to play smarter, not harder.  This is the beauty of jiu-jitsu. It was made for a small person to utilize their opponent’s leverage against them.

The same can be said for speed and quickness. This is not to say that all big people move slower, but if you can be quicker than your larger and stronger opponent, the better off you are. If not, you will get smashed and that is a fact.

And of course, last but not least, technique conquers all. Believe it or not, if you miss one small key detail of a technique, it means the difference between sweeping a 200 lb guy off of you versus getting your guard passed by a 200 lb guy. Believe in the technique, don’t half ass it, don’t force it, and you will see the results. It may not always work with a 200 lb person who has you in side control, but if you focus on getting the tech down (down to the last small key detail), you’ll give yourself a better percentage of hitting it the next time.

So before you use size as an excuse for weakness, just remember: “Adversity is the dust that polishes the diamond.” Overcome adversity and adapt to improve your game, as anything is possible in jiu-jitsu. Oss!

Balancing Your Life with Jiu-Jitsu

You got bit by the BJJ bug too, huh? Welcome to the club! Unfortunately, the reality is that for most of us, we have full-time jobs, a family, or school (or all of the above) which can take away precious training time.  So, how do you balance your “full time” life with your constant craving for jiu-jitsu?

Here’s a few tips that we’ve come up with based on our experiences with trying to find the right balance between life and training:

Make a schedule and stick to it. Planning out your days, weeks, or month can be beneficial to staying in line with your goals. If you want to train every day but your schedule doesn’t allow it, compromise for three days instead, maybe four if you can – but make sure you document it. Nothing says commitment like writing it down on paper (make sure its in pen so you can’t erase it). Also, writing down your goals for the day, week, or month help too. If you want to improve in BJJ, you need to make the time for it.

Make it a family affair. If you have kids or need more quality time with your significant other/spouse, get them on the mats with you. Not only does it give you an excuse to go to the gym together, but it also gives you something in common where you can relate to each other. If training with your significant other/spouse is not an option, invite them to the gym to help them understand your fascination/obsession/whatever you wanna call it with BJJ.

Set your mind over matter. Life can be exhausting – especially if you work or go to school for 8-9 hours and spend a good amount of time on the road getting around. Often times it is easy for us to go straight home instead of going to train… then you instantly regret it once you pull into your driveway and realize it really is too late to turn around. Pack your training bag the night before, schedule an alert on your phone, and make a conscious effort to head to the gym after work/school. If all else fails: coffee or a good pre-workout is your new BFF. On a side note: good nutrition and hydration throughout the day also help keep your energy level (and motivation) up.

Find a training "buddy." If you need someone else other than yourself to keep you accountable, hit up your favorite training partner and have them keep tabs on you too. It helps if someone else is encouraging you to hit the mats with them, you're more likely to carve out more time in your busy schedule to train. Sometimes you may even score a free ride from work or home to the gym because they need you as much as you need them. 

Sometimes open mats are the only option. (And that's perfectly fine to get some mat time in when you really need it.) Just don't rely on it all the time because nothing replaces quality mat time like an actual class -- especially if you want to improve and move up in the ranks. If you need to drill, use the open mat time to drill. There usually aren't any hard and fast rules that you have to spar the entire time at an open mat, so use it to your advantage to drill and work on the areas that you've been obsessing over when you're thinking about BJJ at work/school.   

Sometimes the answers aren’t as simple, but the bottom line is that you can make it work if you really want to. Even if it’s 30 minutes a couple times a week, any mat time is better than nothing to satisfy the craving of BJJ. 

Not All Promotions Are Created Equal /// By: Vincent Inoncillo

What is a promotion? By definition it means “the action of raising someone to a higher position or rank." At a place of business it means moving from a regular associate to a manager position or higher, in the military it means moving up the ranks from Private to Sergeant Major and the list goes on as long as there's a chain of command. Promotion at your job sounds nice, but to a lot of us in the Jiu-Jitsu community, a belt promotion means more. Like I mentioned in a previous blog post, chasing the next belt may not necessarily be a bad thing because having goals are important.

As practitioners, our own Jiu-Jitsu is constantly evolving whether we know it or not. Some progress through the ranks at a faster pace than others and that's alright. The main thing is that we are learning, maturing and having fun. On the same note we all personally want to know how we stack up against others. There may have been a time when you were a white belt and you only wanted to roll with other white belts and maybe a couple blue belts because you felt that your skill was close to theirs or a little bit better. That's perfectly fine for a while just so you can experiment with the movements, but the fact of the matter is that we truly only get better if you challenge yourself with someone that is better than you. They say you're either the hammer or the nail. In Jiu-Jitsu everybody is the nail no matter how technically sound you are.

Getting promoted to the next stripe or belt is a big deal. It's recognition for your dedication and competence, or "Jiu-Jitsu IQ" as I like to call it. The criteria is different amongst schools and professors. For example, how often you attend class can be a factor toward promotion along with the combination of positive results when you compete. Attendance shows dedication and performing well in competition displays what knowledge you have accumulated and are able to apply to a resisting opponent. This can be some criterion for the way up. Another example is simply attending class regularly and being able to consistently apply what you learned to everyone in your belt level and below. Even giving higher belts a challenge such as defending or putting pressure during rolls shows off your progress. The factors toward promotion vary for each person.

Most traditional academies have a curriculum of techniques that they would like different belt levels to master before ranking them up. This ranges from different attacks from closed guard or mount, variations of certain submissions and even linking different techniques together. Roy Dean, a 3rd degree black belt under Roy Harris, coins Jiu-Jitsu as a “physical debate.” He says, " White belt is learning the shape of the letters and the alphabet. Blue Belt is learning words. Purple belt is stringing sentences together.  Brown belt is advanced arguments (counters to their argumentative counters) and black belt focuses on a personalized and concise delivery." The more you practice, the more you learn, the better you get and the better you get the more versed you become in these physical debates and progress to the next level.

Other academies may have an open curriculum. Open such as teaching progressive techniques and advanced ones to all belt levels. And even now Jiu-Jitsu is at the tip of our fingers all over the Internet. You can learn pretty much any technique from different people and different philosophies. This has definitely been a tool to improve your game over the last decade.

The guidelines for a promotion in Jiu-Jitsu aren't strict, they just differ between schools and professors. Every practitioner's approach in their Jiu-Jitsu journey is different, so it's okay to get surpassed by your others because you are on a different path. 

The Chef Behind M120 Meals

Whether you are a competing athlete or train 3 or more times per week, you know how much good nutrition plays a role in the way that you perform on the mat. Fueling your body the right way without processed sugars and added sodium feels amazing but isn’t always the easiest when it comes to meal prepping. I don’t know about you, but I know I can cook chicken and fish a few ways before it gets boring and starts to taste the same. Luckily for people like me, there are companies like M120 Meals who make eating clean look AND taste like you’re eating a fancy meal.

Spinach and cheese stuffed all natural ground chicken breast meatloaf

Hawaii born and raised, Gene Villiatora, is the Executive Chef and Owner of M120 Meals. He has been in the culinary arts since the age of 18 when he started as a dishwasher 20 years ago at the California Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since then he found his true calling in the industry and had the pleasure of holding some pretty high profile positions along the way. Most notably (and recently), being the personal chef for Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, owners of the UFC and all Station Casino brands in Las Vegas. 

Chef Villiatora knows a thing or two about taking care of your body and making better life choices. He suffered a mild stroke seven years ago due to not taking care of himself and being too consumed with his career as a personal chef. It was because of this that Villiatora was forced to eat healthier and eventually decided to make a living out of it. Thus, M120 Meals was born. 

You may be familiar with M120 Meals, as it is popular amongst some of the top BJJ athletes in the game, notably the Mendes brothers and their students at AOJ. While M120 Meals speaks for itself, Villiatora credited AOJ and RVCA with helping get his brand out there – rather than buying followers on social media or hiring models to take pictures with his meals. It is real people with real results and a company that is chef driven – “not just some meathead that’s pretending to be a chef and boiling chicken and using some other companies’ seasoning for his food.” M120 Meals makes their own sauces, spices, and marinades without using any added sodium or processed sugars. 

All natural ground turkey meatballs with pesto and cranberries. No added sodium or processed sugars.

Jiu-Jitsu and nutrition go hand in hand. And the term “you are what you eat” is so true when it comes to the BJJ lifestyle. Take it from the Chef – he’s a seven year white belt who has now committed to training… and with the best, no less.

Check out M120 Meals at www.m120meals.com to find out more about how you can get healthy meals with just a click of a button. 

New Year's Jiu-Jitsu Resolutions /// By: Vincent Inoncillo

As Jiu-Jitsu has become more popular throughout the years since its first exposure from the early UFC days, the practitioner population has increased exponentially throughout the world. There are different people of all shapes and sizes, different age groups, and backgrounds that all have the gentle art in common. No matter the person or their reason, they all have found a connection with the sport, a connection with their potential or better yet, a connection with their life. If you have just started training or like myself have been training for a while, then you know that this is an addiction. You find yourself wanting more from it. Whether if it's just for fitness or if you want to become an active competitor, deep down you want to become the best you can be. With the New Year just beginning I'm sure we have thought about our yearly resolutions and Jiu-Jitsu is definitely included.

No matter what your level is in Jiu-Jitsu there is always room for improvement. Collectively as practitioners I know we won't all have the same resolutions, but we will definitely have similar ones. Here are just a few of mine that I would like to share.

Diet - Fueling my body properly and maintaining a sensible diet is important for performance. At the least make sure to eat breakfast in the morning because as they say, it is the most important meal of the day. Starting the day off on an empty stomach can take its toll on you if you like to train in the morning.

Drilling - Practice makes perfect. In a real match or roll you will be going against a resisting opponent. Practicing the technique is good, but practicing the technique along with its possible scenarios may be more beneficial. From this you can explore different or even new pathways to a better position or a finish. It will also help create muscle memory.

The Next Belt - Some say not to chase the next belt, but to enjoy your current one. Also, that in due time if you stay consistent the next one will come. This may be true, but at the same time there are practitioners whose level of Jiu-Jitsu may surpass others who have been training longer. This happens all the time and the student that didn't get their next belt yet may look at their teammate who got theirs before them as motivation. Work must be put in to get to the next level in anything. Goals like this are important.

Training With Different Partners - Having training partners is important because we wouldn't be able to train Jiu-Jitsu without them. They help us develop our game as we do to them. If your team has multiple locations I would recommend training at the different spots. Training with different body types and different games will keep your game on its toes, continuously forcing you to improve. If you have the luxury of doing this, please take advantage.

Revisit Your Old Style - From the day you started training up until now your game has changed. For myself as a purple belt my game has continuously evolved. From white belt until now I have played different guards, played bottom game, pulled guard and have gone back and forth many times throughout my time training. I've tried many different things as my game has changed and have come back to some of them as my game progresses. There may be that one move that you used to do all the time that stop working so you had to do something else then came back to it because you found a different way to do it. It never hurts to go back to the basics or even the basic things that you did before.

Teach Others - Teaching others is also a good way to improve your Jiu-Jitsu. Explaining techniques and theories with others is a good way to dissect the move and even your game. Whether it's a lower or higher belt, everyone can learn from everyone.

These are some of my personal beliefs and goals for myself. They may or may not change as time goes on, but they give me a sense of direction and motivation to keep training. Some of you may have similar goals and some may have different ones. But I do know that our one common goal is to always improve. Keep training and don't stop improving.

Strength & Conditioning Technique of the Month with Zach Adamson

The Pole Squat is one of the best exercises to condition your body to maintain posture while passing the guard in Jiu Jitsu. This movement will increase your strength, work capacity, increase your mobility and allow you to maintain better posture in Jiu-Jitsu and in life. Start with 30 seconds and slowly build up to where you can maintain the position for a few minutes.

Some of the main cues you want to focus on are:

• Spread your toes, get your foot as flat as possible so you have a big base. Actively grip the floor with your feet throughout the movement.
• Start with your knees tracking over your toes, then work at different depths as you play in this position. You can pry your hips open from side to side and work to clean up any tight areas you are feeling your hips.
• Try and maintain your posture as you pull yourself down into the squat position. Imagine your head shoulders and hips are all in line, consciously try to pack your chin up and your shoulders as much as possible.
• Look to control your breath and tension in the position, look to channel fresh blood into those areas that feel tight.

Zach Adamson is a black belt under Rafael Lovato Jr., and is co-owner of Adamson Brothers Jiu Jitsu in Seaside, Oregon. For more strength & conditioning tips for BJJ, follow @adamson_bros_sportsperformance on Instagram.

From Brazil to Texas: Draculino's Golden Boy

Imagine being 18 years old and given the opportunity to move almost 5,000 miles away from home to another country. Like many young Brazilians seeking better opportunities in the United States, Gracie Barra brown belt standout Lucas Valente is no different.

Lucas can't remember a time in his life when he didn't have Jiu-Jitsu, it's as if he were “born on the mats.” His uncles, Daniel “Karate” Valente and Alexandre “Piruca” Valente, were longtime students and black belts of Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes so it's only fitting that Lucas took his first steps on his uncle’s mats in their hometown of Belo Horizonte where his uncles and many other students (some of which were famous BJJ fighters) would train and churrasco (barbeque).

Lucas with his uncle Dan training in their hometown of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

As soon as Lucas was old enough, he joined the Gracie Barra Belo Horizonte kids program. His successes in Brazil began at an early age, winning every fight by submission until he got his blue belt at 14 years old.

In 2014, one day while talking to Draculino over the phone, Draculino invited Lucas to go to Houston, Texas, to live with him. There was no question of what Lucas’ answer would be, as Draculino was/is his biggest idol and he could not be more honored by the invitation. Although Lucas had visited the US before, having the chance to live there was a big change that he was more than ready to embrace.

When asked what the biggest difference between training in Brazil and training in the US, Lucas related that Draculino keeps the same quality of training with the same vibe and BJJ principles. Although he does not feel like there is a big difference, Lucas noted that jiu-jitsu in the US is “way more formal” than it is in Brazil. Meaning that in Brazil, it’s acceptable to show up late to class, change on the mats, and joke around when training. In the US, there is stricter etiquette in the academy and the vibe can be a lot more serious.  

Like many big changes, it does not come without its challenges. Leaving friends and family (and all the acai) back home is never easy, but with the support of his adopted family, Lucas is now having the best time of his life living in the US. Since moving to Texas in 2014, his successes have grown exponentially - notably being named IBJJF’s 2015 #1 ranked No-Gi brown belt light weight. Lucas also most recently qualified for the Eddie Bravo Invitational after having the fastest submission at the ONNIT Invitational 3 last month. In 2017, he looks forward to competing as much as he can, doing seminars, and traveling. Eventually, he hopes to be as successful as his master, not just as a black belt, but in all aspects of his life.

In the end, the things that you risk reveal what you value. Not only has Lucas grown as a competitor since he moved to the US, but he has grown as a person under Draculino’s mentorship. There is no doubt that he will continue to be one of the most exciting lightweights in his division so be sure to keep an eye out for Lucas as he takes on 2017.

Tips for Starting BJJ in Your 30s or Later

I consider myself a late bloomer. When I was a kid, I was more of a nerd than I was athletic and did not participate in team sports like my friends. After I graduated with my Masters degree in my early 20s, I decided to do something for myself. So I started kickboxing to get in shape... which eventually lead to jiu-jitsu at age 30. I see this two ways: as a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I found jiu-jitsu and a curse because I wish I started much earlier in life when my body could better handle the day-to-day beatings on the mat.

However, like the saying goes, it’s better late than never. Now that I’m in my mid-30’s, I look back on the last seven years and reflect on the things that I could have done differently when starting my BJJ journey.

Below are a few tips that I believe will help anyone enjoy BJJ whether they are starting in their 30s, 40s, 50s or older. 

Attitude is everything. If you think the glass is half full, the glass is half full. If you see it as half empty, it’s half empty. What I mean by this is that if you keep telling yourself that you’re too old for jiu-jitsu, you will believe it and never try. Also, if you keep in mind that nothing is expected of you when you start jiu-jitsu and focus on the training experience rather than trying to win every time you spar, you will learn to control your ego (which will ultimately make your training experience so much better). 

Listen to your body. As we get older, our bodies start to change. It takes more time to recover from tough training and injuries. You get tired faster and your body doesn’t move the way it used to like when you were in your twenties or your teens. But the good thing is that with age, comes awareness. You are more in tune to your body and what feels good and what would be an “uh oh” moment. Rely on your instincts to avoid unwanted injuries.

Train smarter. Approach training more intelligently by training smarter, not harder. Rather than risk exhaustion and injury, drill more and choose your training partners wisely. While sparring is one of the more fun aspects of training, drilling a technique and adding it into a sequence that you’ve got down can be just as fun. Drilling and getting the repetitions in also help you nail those awesome techniques in sparring later. If you do spar, choose partners that are devoted to the learning process rather than medal chasing or proving that they are the alpha of the group. 

Don’t be afraid to use supplements. While taking time off to heal is essential when your body is recovering, taking supplements such as BCAAs, fish oil, protein, etc., have proven to slow the effects of aging, increase the healing process, and improve your overall health. 

Warming up and stretching is essential. Both can seem monotonous when you’re excited to train and get to the technique of the day but without a proper warm up and stretching later (when your body is warm), your body is prone to injury. And don’t be the guy that shows up after the warm up. Unless you are under the age of 20, you are no longer considered a spring chicken.  

If you keep these things in mind, I am positive that you will enjoy your time on the mats. If you take care of your body, your body will take care of you. Most importantly, remember that BJJ is for everyone at any age no matter the circumstance!